Ripple Effect
by Bucken-Berry
Summary: AU. George and Alex were adopted as babies and raised as siblings. Now they're adults working for the SVU, content with life despite the challenges. But when Alex gets over her head with the Zapata case, their lives could be torn apart. A/O, but with a focus on Alex and George's familial relationship.


A/N: Okay, so I've had this story planned for half a year now, and I finally got chapter one ready to post after two months of procrastinating on writing. I've been really, really excited about it, but also nervous because it's very unconventional and I don't know how it will be received. I'm taking a shot in the dark here, so please let me know what you think about the concept and the story itself.

As I said in my summary, this story is an AU; Alex and George were both adopted as babies and raised together. At the start of this story, they are adults. Alex has been working at SVU for about a half-year, and George has just been assigned to New York. Everything else will be explained in the story.

I'm going to try to keep this as canon-compliant as possible, while still allowing for the changes that would happen in this scenario and fixing things that bugged me in canon. I will also try to keep things as realistic as possible, but there are going to be some things you'll have to suspend your disbelief on (such as an ADA being allowed to call her brother as an expert witness during a criminal trial). But even when things do get unrealistic, I hope the writing will be good enough that you want to keep reading.

This story will most definitely be A/O, but it will focus just as much on Alex's familial relationship with George, and on George's POV as well. I'm going to try and keep it balanced between them, but there may be times where one or the other is in the limelight more. Don't worry, it'll all even out in the end, and you will definitely get enough A/O goodness to keep you satisfied. :)

I plan for this to be a series, with anywhere from three to five parts, plus a possible prequel if inspiration strikes. Hopefully you guys will all stay along for the ride. :)

I think that's everything! If I think of anything later, I'll add it in the next chapter's notes. I hope you enjoy this! Please let me know what you think!

* * *

The smells of coffee and grilled food made Alex's mouth water as she entered the restaurant. She folded up her umbrella and slid her coat off, glancing outside at the rainy night sky. Then she inhaled deeply, savoring the delicious "restaurant smell", before laying eyes on the person she was looking for and walking over to him.

"Hey there. So, are you ready?" Alex asked, sliding into the seat across from George.

George smiled up at her. "Of course. I'm just happy to be in New York again." He'd grown up here, after all, and it had been a long time since he'd gotten to stay in the city for as long as he wanted. After joining the FBI, he'd first spent several months at the FBI Academy in Quantico, and then had been assigned to Los Angeles, Seattle, and Dallas. Now he was finally back home, hopefully for a long time, if not for good.

He hadn't liked being away from his family, but it was what he'd signed up for when he'd joined the FBI and George knew he had no right to complain about it. Still, he was very happy to be home again.

Tomorrow, he'd start his job at the New York Field Office, setting up VI-CAP in the state as well as doing his normal assignments, including consulting work with the NYPD. There was a high likelihood that he would be called in to work with the same unit Alex had recently been assigned to.

Alex grabbed George's cup of ice water and took a quick drink. "I'm happy you're back too," she said softly. "Mom and I have both missed you so much."

"I know. I'm sorry," George murmured. "I know how lonely it must have been for you two."

Alex shook her head. "It wouldn't be fair of us to expect you to stay here forever," she pointed out. "You have an important job and that involves being away from us. And it's not like you just cut off contact with us- you called and visited whenever you could. Yeah, it was lonely, but you're here now. So don't worry." She smiled at him warmly. "Just buy me a burger, a plate of french fries, and a shake and we'll call it good."

George laughed softly. "I think I can do that," he agreed. He caught a waitress's eye and she walked over to take their orders. After ordering Alex's favorite- a burger with everything but mayonnaise, french fries, a diet Pepsi, and a strawberry shake- he stopped. "I'm not too hungry," he began, but Alex cut him off.

"You always say you're not hungry. Not this time. It's not like a few extra calories would hurt you," she said firmly.

George shook his head. "It's not about weight, I'm just not hungry," he insisted.

"Tough," Alex said. "You're even smaller than last time you came up here. You doctors never eat- I can't tell if you forget or if you just decide not to because of lack of time." She turned to the waitress. "He'll have a veggie burger, Sprite, and fries." When George sighed, she added, "Be glad I'm not adding a shake in there too."

"That all?" the waitress asked, grinning at them.

"Yeah, thanks," Alex said. The waitress walked away, leaving her and George alone.

"Are you going to do this every time we go out?" George asked, amused.

"If I have to," Alex replied, leaning back.

George snorted and muttered, "Figures. I wouldn't put it past you to force it down my throat."

"Right," Alex agreed. "So consider yourself lucky."

"Okay, okay," George said, rolling his eyes playfully. "Note to self: never meet Alex for a meal again."

"Hey, if you would actually eat every once in a while, I wouldn't have to make you," Alex said.

"It's just a bad habit us shrinks get into," George explained. "With all the work we do, eating tends to fall by the wayside. One of the downsides of my job." And it had definitely changed his metabolism after the last few years of that schedule; he didn't truly feel hungry all that often, and when he did, it didn't take much to fill him up.

"Well, now that you're back here, Mom and I will have you fattened up in no time," Alex said, grinning back at him. "We aren't going to let you starve yourself anytime soon."

"Lucky me," George said dryly, reaching for his- well, "the" was more like it now that Alex had claimed it- glass of water. After taking a few sips, he set it down and asked, "How have you two been?"

"Same as since last time you visited," Alex said, shrugging. "Things have been good, mostly. Uneventful for her, almost too busy for me. The only thing is that working Special Victims is stressful, which makes Mom worry about me. I keep trying to tell her I'm okay, and that she doesn't need to worry, but... that isn't always the truth. Still, I don't want her to worry."

George nodded thoughtfully. "Mom does have a good reason to worry, though, even if you're mostly okay." He ran his hand over the glass. "It never does get easier, working sex crimes."

Alex knew that George wasn't exclusively referring to her, that he was thinking about his job before he'd become an FBI agent. She cringed inwardly, thinking about when George had tried- honest to God, he'd tried- to cure sex offenders. The job had caused him so much stress, and she had been glad when he'd told her about his decision to work from a different angle, to try and catch them instead of wasting his time with something that was never going to help. Even if the job at the FBI meant longer hours and more time away from them, she was happy he'd chosen it, that the emotional toll had been reduced. Anything that upset George wasn't worth it, in her eyes.

"It's stressful," Alex agreed, speaking slowly, thoughtfully. "And it never does get easier. But we get better equipped to handle it as time goes on. So I don't want Mom to worry unnecessarily." She gave a half-smile. "She'll know when she should be worried."

"True," George said, sighing softly. "I don't like worrying you two."

Alex reached one hand out and grabbed George's arm, squeezing gently. "It's okay," she promised him, looking into his eyes. "I promise."

George smiled softly and said, "Okay. And I promise..." And then he snorted, shaking his head lightly. "You weren't worried anyway- I just sound stupid. How do you always do that?"

"I know what you're trying to say, don't worry," Alex said. That was her brother, all right, always trying to comfort others even if they didn't really need it and he _did_. Taking care of others was second nature to him. She loved that about him, of course, but it did make it hard for her to feel like 'the protector' like she felt she was supposed to be.

The waitress came back with their food, setting their respective orders in front of them. She nodded as they thanked her, then quickly walked away to help another table.

Knowing Alex was not about to let him get away with eating too little, George took a bite out of his burger. Veggie burgers were always hit-and-miss with the quality, but these ones were delicious. Thankful, he took another bite and then leaned back, drinking his soda.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while before Alex asked, "By the way, did you know Mom is trying to get a dog?"

George laughed. "Yeah, she told me. I thought she hated dogs."

"Me too. I guess she's just looking for an exception to that rule." Alex wiped her hands off on a napkin. "I think she'd like a terrier best."

"Yeah, they seem to be more her type," George agreed. He paused for effect, then concluded, "So, knowing her, she'll probably end up with a husky or something."

Alex snorted. "Pretty much."

"Once I'm settled in here, I think I want to get a cat," George thought aloud. "I got shuffled around a lot as a new agent, so I didn't want to get a pet because I didn't want them to have to move with me, but I think now would be a good time. I want to have something alive to come home to."

"Plants are alive," Alex teased.

"And plants also hate me. And plants don't curl up in your lap," George retorted lightly.

"How do you know a cat would?" Alex asked, sliding her last french fry into her mouth.

"Because I'll make sure to get a nice one." Seeing that Alex was almost done eating, George took a few quick bites of his meal and then got their waitress's attention. She retrieved their bill, and George got his wallet out and put the money on the table.

"Want to head out?" George asked. Alex nodded, so they stood and left the restaurant.

"I need to get home soon; I have a lot of paperwork to fill out," Alex said apologetically. When they'd arranged to meet up here, she had thought they'd have time to catch a movie or go to a bar, but she just didn't have the time.

"Okay," George said, understanding. "Want to meet tomorrow for lunch?"

"If our schedules line up," Alex agreed, nodding. "And then we'll see about what we can do this weekend."

"If Mom doesn't hold me hostage the whole weekend," George laughed. "Anyway, good night. See you tomorrow."

Alex reached her arms out and gave George a tight hug. "I'm so happy you're back home," she murmured. "I missed you a lot."

"You too," George replied, hugging her back. "And I'm probably happier that I'm home than you are."

The two stepped apart and started walking away; Alex to get a cab, and George to the nearest subway entrance.

Once George was settled in the subway car and on the way to the stop by his apartment, he leaned back in his seat and sighed softly. Even though he knew his new assignment would be challenging, he was ready.

The subway came to a stop at his destination and he disembarked, climbing up the stairs to the street and walking a block or so to his high-rise apartment building. He took the elevator up to his floor and pulled out his key, entering the unit that didn't yet feel like a home, but hopefully would someday. There was still a lot of unpacking to do, but he'd get to it in a few days.

Even though it was still early- 8:00- he was exhausted, and he needed to be up early the next morning anyway. He got ready for bed, falling asleep almost the instant he curled up in his bed.

* * *

Alex, meanwhile, sat on her sofa, sipping at some tea and filling out her forms. Though she would be busy tomorrow, if she took care of enough paperwork now, she would have enough time to join George for lunch, and to meet the SVU detectives for a drink at O'Malley's after their shifts ended. And getting to talk with Olivia was most definitely worth the extra work.

She wondered how George would get along with the detectives, if or when he worked with them. His primary job at the New York field office would be to set up VI-CAP in New York, though he would be made available for important local cases, so she wasn't sure how likely the prospect was. She hoped he'd get to work with them, and that they'd get along. Even if George wasn't officially assigned to work with them, he would be able to offer a lot of insight them if they asked him for it.

Scrawling her signature on yet another form, she set her pen down to give her hand a break. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this energetic and happy. Working with SVU often drained her soul, but the rare times when everything seemed to be going well made it all worth it. She was making friends with the detectives, and now her brother was home again- she was as happy as she could be.

She was ready for the challenges her job would continue to throw at her.


End file.
